


Lindsey and the Family Tree

by allysonandrews1982 (FonzFan82)



Series: Leave It to Beaver 2nd Generation [5]
Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-21
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-05-15 09:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5779726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FonzFan82/pseuds/allysonandrews1982
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Martha had news to share with her friends. This news is surprising to Lindsey. Martha's sister, Lucy, decided to give Lindsey a surprise. Stay tuned for more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Martha Haskell had news doe her friends, Louise Rutherford and Lindsey Cleaver. It was a cold day, so all three girls hung around in Lindsey’s dorm room. They all tried staying in the same dorm room when they finished their high school year as seniors, but sharing a room didn’t work out as they expected it to. Martha wasn’t sure if Lindsey and Louise knew about this or not, so she spoke up a minute or so later.

“Girls, I have some news I’d like to share.”

“What’s the news, Martha?” Lindsey asked.

She and Louise looked up from their game, which was Go Fish. Martha wasn’t interested in playing a third game, but she let her friends play without her.

“Do you remember my sister Lucy?”

“Yes,” was the answer.

“I talked with her last night. She’s looking forward to seeing us this upcoming weekend.” 

“Is that all of the news you have for us?” Louise asked.

“No. There’s more.”

“You may go on, Martha.”

“Lucy told me she’s bringing a couple other friends with her for us to meet.”

“Who are these friends?” Lindsey asked.

She found this conversation very interesting.

“She said these friends of hers are also in college. Guess what their last names are?”

Neither Louise and Lindsey said a word, so they let Martha continue.

“It’s Cleaver.”

“You mean both of them have that last name?”

“Yes, that’s what Lucy told me.”

“I don’t think Dad or Uncle Beaver ever told me about my having cousins. This should be interesting. Martha, did your sister say anything about where they came from or what their first names are?”

“No, Lindsey. This is all she told me,” Martha said truthfully.

“Oh. I was curious.”

“That happens,” Louise said.

“Did she say what their family tree was?” 

“Lucy didn’t give me much detail, but she said it was fine with her if I could pass this to you.”

“At least your sister wanted to surprise me.”

“She thought that was a good surprise, but if she gives me more details, I’ll share with you.”

“Good plan.”

“I’m going to call Lucy later today for more information. Maybe there could be a way for us to meet these missing cousins of yours,” Martha told Lindsey.

“Go for it,” Lindsey told her.

“I thought you knew about these relatives of yours.”

“This is new information. Maybe both of these cousins did the same thing I did.”

“What was that?” Louise asked.

“Runaway from family I never kept in touch with, except for Uncle Beaver. All this time he never said a word to me.”

“Could be. Lindsey, you should know these missing relatives without me telling you.”

“It didn’t work out that way, Martha. Would you mind asking Lucy if she could give me their contact information?”

“I’d be happy to, Lindsey. I will let you know what she says. Do you want their e – mail information or cell phone number?”

“Cell phone would be the best choice for me, Martha. Once Lucy gives their contacts, you could pass it to them to reach me on my cell phone. This sounds more like a pen pal type of conversation to me,” Lindsey said, and then asked,” did Lucy tell you how old they are?”

“That was another thing she didn’t bother telling me, Lindsey. I happen to think she’s leaving you a surprise.”

“You mean a mystery,” Louise corrected her.

“I guess that was the word I was looking for. You had a good guess about the pen pal thing there. As I already told you, I’ll do my best to give you more details. What else do you both want to do besides playing Go Fish?”

The girls didn’t have any ideas to Martha’s question. She thought of something.

“Lindsey?”

“Yes, Martha?”

It was beginning to rain, but the weather forecast told the three of them it would be fifty percent chance of rain today and for the next day it would be one hundred percent. It had been a while since Mayfield had a rainstorm.

“When was the last time we had a rainstorm? Do you remember?”

“I don’t know how to answer that question, Martha. It was a long time ago, I believe,” Lindsey answered.

“Probably,” Louise agreed.

“Curious.”

Neither Lindsey or Louise said a word for a while. The girls took a break from Go Fish and grab a newspaper. They try their best to read the local news in the newspaper, but Lindsey almost always did her share, but both Martha and Louise didn’t do much with newspaper, but they enjoyed the puzzle section the most.

Today was Saturday, so there was no visits to classes. Martha and her friends always liked weekends best. Lindsey completed all of her homework assignments just last night so there was plenty of time to hang out with Louise and Martha.

“If I do get a chance to meet these relatives of mine, and you girls could you girls do me a favor?”

“What’s that?” Louise asked.

“Don’t act immature. They may not have your same interest of being immature.”

“Thank you for the warning, Lindsey.”

“If either of you do act immature, do it somewhere else so my cousins may not thinking of coming back.”

Lindsey did have a good point, Martha told herself, but there was no promise she and Louise could agree on, so Martha gave Lindsey no response.

“I hope we all will get along. Martha, did Lucy say anything about my cousins get along?”

“I could ask her that too, Lindsey. I also don’t know how to tell you how long Lucy has been friends with these relatives.”

“Boy, you have a long list of questions to ask, Lindsey.”

“I know. It just bugs me that nobody told me any of this a long time ago instead of now.”

Martha only nodded her head, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. ‘This sounds like an adventure,’ Lindsey told herself.


	2. Chapter 2

Lindsey couldn’t keep Martha’s surprise out of her mind. Whatever Martha and Lucy have in mind, she wanted to know about it. Martha wasn’t around when Lindsey and Louise were talking. Martha was taking a shower, so this time she couldn’t hear Lindsey and Louise’s conversation.

“Louise, has Martha said anything to you about this surprise Lucy is going to share with us?” Lindsey asked.

She asked her friend this question to see if Louise knew anything.

“I don’t have a clue, Lindsey. I hope she will tell us soon. This should be an interesting surprise that Lucy has been sharing with Martha. At least Martha doesn’t want to share with us all at once, but we’ll wait and see.”

“You’re right, Louise. Whatever that surprise could be, it sounds like a good surprise.”

“I happen to think so also.”

Once Martha stepped out of the shower, she could hear her friends talking. She couldn’t catch what they were saying, and she guessed the conversation was about Lucy and her new friends. Even though Lucy didn’t give her full details, but she was sure Lucy would tell her more when they talk again. After wrapping her towel around her waist, Martha then turned off the water in the shower.

Martha told herself she would give Lucy a call and tell her sister Lindsey and Louise still want more details about these new characters. Lately Martha hadn’t spoke with Lucy, but she told herself she wouldn’t push Lucy with more information and see what this story was going to be. She’d let Lucy take her own sweet time to give out more details.

Even Martha herself was curious about this whole new introduction would turn out. She thought of asking Lucy to send a picture or two of her new friends to Lindsey’s phone so she could be the first to see for herself, since this was a surprise for her. That was a good idea, Martha told herself. When Martha finished blow – drying her hair and got dressed, maybe now would be a good chance for her talk with Lucy.

“Looks like Martha is finished with her hair,” Louise told Lindsey.

“Of course she is. She’ll rejoin us when she’s ready.”

“That does make sense to me.”

Martha found her phone since it was time to make that call. She unplugged her phone from the wall with a snap and began to message her sister. Here’s what she had to say this time:

‘Hi, Lucy. I did notice we hadn’t been in contact lately. I thought now would be a good idea to receive more information about this surprise you have for Lindsey. She says she doesn’t want to keep in suspense any longer. I do happen to have a question for you.’

That’s when she sent her message to Lucy.

About two to three minutes later, Martha got a reply from her sister. Here’s what Lucy said:

'Hi, Martha. I wasn’t expecting to talk with you anytime soon. Yes, I am doing well, but am very busy. I do have a few minutes to chat with you and then I have a date to attend. What is this question you have for me about Lindsey’s relatives?’

Martha finished reading the message and then she replied, saying:

‘This question I wanted to ask you if this would you mind sending a picture of these cousins of hers to her phone so she could get the dibs and she could share with Louise and me?’ Then Lindsey can tell me she got your pictures without any problems? I somehow happen to think it makes better sense to go from there.’

Another two to three minutes later, Lucy sent her a reply:

‘Yes, Martha. I will send those pictures to Lindsey. Since I don’t have any of her contact information, would you mind sending me her number? I’d be happy if you do. Then I will go from there.’

So Martha gave her the information. There was no need to share with Lindsey that Lucy has her information since Lindsey would see for herself.

‘Lucy, thank you very much for responding so fast. I do appreciate that. I know you and Lindsey would have a nice visit when you come to Mayfield. I hope you have fun on your date.’

Then Lucy replied again:

‘It was nice catching up with you. I will have fun. All I’m doing on this date is dinner and then the movies. Let me know what Lindsey says about the pictures. Take care.’


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Lucy talked to her friends.

“My sister Martha told me she’ll pass the news over to her friend I’ve been telling you about.”

Both Todd and Catherine Cleaver were listening to their friend. This hasn’t been the first time Lucy told them about Martha and her friends.

“What did you tell us what our cousin’s name was?” Todd asked.

Like Catherine, he was also in his twenties. For now Todd is twenty –seven while Catherine is twenty – six. This isn’t very often he and Catherine saw one another.

“Her name is Lindsey Cleaver,” Lucy added.

“Do you have her contact information?” Catherine asked.

“No, I don’t. I’ll be sure to ask Martha and we’ll go from there.”

Todd and Catherine thought to themselves that Lindsey probably was a nice girl, but again they could be wrong as well.

Todd and Catherine stayed for a while longer and planned on going to a movie.

“Want to see a movie?” Todd asked.

“Sure. What time do you have in mind?”

“How about in an hour or so?”

“That’s fine with me. I’ll go and tell Lucy.”

“Okay.”

Lucy was in the kitchen when Catherine walked in. After Lucy told them about Lindsey, Lucy was going through what type of meal sounded good for tonight.

“Lucy?” 

“Yes, Catherine?”

“Todd and I are leaving now. We’ve decided to pay a visit to the theater.”

“You both go and have fun. I’ll talk with you later.”

“All right. Would you like us to be back for supper?”

“If you and Todd want to, that’s fine with me. Call me when the movie is over.”

“We will.”

Todd watched Catherine enter the living room once again.

“Did Lucy expect us for supper?” Todd asked once he slammed the front door shut.

“Todd, weren’t you paying attention?”

“I guess not.”

“Lucy told me we can come back.”

“Fine with me.”

Lucy didn’t bother to look through the kitchen window and check to make sure Catherine and Todd left.

She got up from the kitchen table and sat on the couch in the living room. Lucy saw that her cell phone was in the same place she left it on the coffee table. Lucy picked it up and sent her sister a new message. Here’s what Lucy said this time:

 

‘Hi, Martha. I just told Todd and Catherine about Lindsey. They are really excited to meet her.’

That’s when she sent the message. A minute or so later, Martha replied.

‘Hi, Lucy. It’s a good thing your friends have agreed on meeting Lindsey. She is still trying to figure this out, but she hasn’t had much progress. I don’t blame her, thought. What else did these friends of yours say?’

‘They would like Lindsey’s contact information. Let me know what Lindsey thinks.’

‘I will, Lucy. Even Louise is curious. What did you say your friends’ names were again?’

‘Todd and Catherine Cleaver.’

‘Thanks.’ I’ll pass this on to Louise and Lindsey. I will talk with you soon.’

That was the end of their short conversation. She’ll get to talk with Martha shortly, she told herself.


	4. Chapter 4

Lindsey couldn’t take Martha’s news about these cousins of hers. Once again, nobody even told her that she had two cousins. This surely was a mystery to her. 

“Lindsey?”

Lindsey looked up from her history book. Her assignment was to read about the eighteen hundreds in America, but for now Todd and Catherine were still on her mind.

“Hi, Martha. Do you want to talk with me about something?”

Today Martha was wearing a turquoise barrette in her hair, wore an old pair of blue jeans, emerald earrings, black tennis shoes, and, last, but not least, a brand new light orange and green T – shire with buttons.

“You look good with orange and green, Martha,” Lindsey complimented her friend.

“Thank you, Lindsey. That’s not why I came here to talk with you. My wardrobe isn’t the topic I came to see you about.”

“I’m listening.”

“You do remember me telling you and Louise about Todd and Catherine?”

“Yes, I do. I’m still very curious about them.”

“I can tell. You look like you haven’t been focusing on your homework tonight.”

“I know, Martha. Has Lucy said anything new?”

“Not too much. She did mention Catherine and Todd are already starting to get curious about you. Lucy wants to know if it’s okay to give Catherine and Todd your contact information. If you say no, I will understand.”

“This is a whole mystery to me, Martha. Why didn’t Dad and Uncle Beaver tell me anything about these characters?”

All Martha could do at the moment was shake her head, and that told Lindsey she couldn’t find any answers.

“Do I get your permission to give Todd and Catherine your contact information?” Martha asked.

Both of them weren’t aware of Louise listening to this conversation.

“Sure. Just have Lucy give them my cell phone number and hotmail address.”

“Okay. I will be sure to do just that.”

“Let me know when they will be able to introduce themselves to me.”

“You’ll know. There isn’t any reason for me to tell you that. Just give Catherine and Todd time to send you the first contact. This should be interesting to see how this whole thing turns out.”

“I do have another question.”

“What’s that, Lindsey?”

Louise was still standing in the doorway, listening to her friends talk, but did notice Martha and Lindsey didn’t look in the doorway at all to see that she was there.

“Did Lucy ever tell you how long she’s known these people?”

“No, and I didn’t ask.”

“Wondered, that’s all.”

“I understand.”

And Louise heard from Martha’s tone of voice that Martha thought by now would be the right time to ask Lucy about that.

“When do you plan to talk with Lucy again?” Lindsey asked.

“I don’t know. She’s busy now, so I don’t want to leave her a message if she’s too busy.”

From what Louise just heard made sense if her sister was busy, Martha could still leave a message and go from there. For now Martha let that be put on hold.

“I’ll get to chatting with Lucy at some point, but tonight isn’t a good time to ask Lucy all of these questions.”

That’s when Lindsey looked at Louise standing in the doorway.

“Hello, Louise. Is there anything you want to talk with us about?”

“No. I was just listening to this very interesting and curious conversation, that’s all.”

“You can come in,” Lindsey told their friends.

So Louise joined Martha and Lindsey. Louise stood next to Martha while Lindsey still sat at her desk.

“Are Martha and I interrupting your homework?” Louise asked, seeing Lindsey’s history book.

“No, you girls didn’t interrupt anything. I am just distracted, that’s all.”

“So I noticed. Do you think we’d ever get a chance to meet these cousins of yours?” Louise asked.

“How am I supposed to answer that? If I had known about Catherine and Todd, I would know. This is strange Uncle Beaver and Dad left out details about this.”

“Family secrets can be like that.”

What Louise just said was true, and did see that Lindsey and Martha agreed.

Today Louise was wearing an old T – shirt. It was starting to have holes on the shirt. It was one of Louise’s favorites in the past, but now since it’s getting old, she could care less. The colors of her shirt were a mix of dark red and purple. Her shirt had polka dots while Martha’s didn’t. Also Louise was wearing a new pair of blue jeans. She hadn’t had these new pair of pants for very long, and this was about the third time she’d worn them. Even her hair was recently washed.

“I think it’s time to get rid of that shirt, Louise. Look at how old it is,” Martha replied, seeing all of the holes Louise’s shirt had on. And today Louise was barefoot, so she didn’t have either socks or shoes on.

“I know. This shirt used to be a favorite, but it’s not anymore.”

“Throw it out now if you don’t like it anymore,” Martha said.

“Martha, don’t tell Louise that sort of thing. Just let her decide when that shirt will be ready to give away.”

Louise agreed with Lindsey.

“Maybe Martha and I should leave now so you can get back to that history book.”

“I’ll see you girls later.”

Lindsey watched Louise slam her bedroom door. She didn’t want to get involved in a stupid fight about Louise’s clothes. That’s when she returned to her homework.


	5. Chapter 5

In the next few days, Lindsey checked her phone. There indeed was a new message waiting for her. It turned out this new message had a number Lindsey didn’t recognize, but she ended up taking the call.

“Is this Lindsey Cleaver?” she heard a male voice ask.

“Yes, it is. May I ask who you are?”

“My name is Todd Cleaver.”

“Hello, Todd. You must be the one of the relatives I’ve heard about.”

“You got that correct. I’ve heard about you also, but not enough information.”

From what she just heard, Todd seemed to be friendly for an introduction. That was something Martha hadn’t even shared with her. There were still a lot of questions Lindsey wanted to ask, but she couldn’t ask all of them in one conversation.

“This sure is a strange telephone conversation I’ve had heard in a while, Todd. What is it that you called about?”

Lindsey tried her best not to be rude for an introduction like this one, but being rude wasn’t her kind of style. She wasn’t too sure how friendly or rude Todd is, but she’ll be able to figure it out once they get to know one another better.

“Lucy Haskell received your contact information from Martha. Both of them agreed that the telephone sounded good for now.”

“I still don’t understand why we haven’t known about each other several years ago instead of until now. Have you been able to figure that one out?”

“I haven’t figured that one out either, Lindsey. From what I’ve been told, Catherine Cleaver will call you first or I could. We thought it made better sense to let me start. I’m sure that’s fine with you.”

“It is, but I still prefer meeting face – to – face instead of a telephone conversation,” Lindsey told Todd.

“I understand, Lindsey, but for now this will have to be the best place to start.”

“At least it’s better than no introduction, Todd. I’m still very suspicious about why my father hadn’t said anything about you and Catherine earlier instead of not telling me anything at all.”

“I understand, Lindsey. I guess that’ something they wanted us to figure out for ourselves.”

Lindsey could tell that Todd was telling the truth. Since this was just an introduction, she wasn’t so sure what to think.

“I know we have a lot to ask one another, but since this is just an introduction, we can’t do those questions all in one conversation. Too many answers,” Lindsey told Todd.

Even he agreed with her.

“Here’s a question for you, Lindsey,” Todd began.

“What’s that?”

“How well do you know Lucy Haskell?”

“Not very well. Even though I’ve known her sister very well, I wasn’t around both of them at the same time enough to know Lucy. Why do you ask?”

“I was just curious, that’s all.”

“That’s okay, Todd. Everybody gets curious.”

Even though Todd didn’t say anything, but he had to agree with Lindsey. Since they’ve only been talking for a few minutes now, he told himself that he liked Lindsey almost immediately. He wasn’t sure if she felt the same way herself, but he told himself that she probably had to agree.

“Lindsey, I’m sorry to cut this introduction short, but I have something else to do. I’ll be sure to tell Catherine to give you a call.”

“It was nice finally to meet you, Todd. I hope we get to talk again some more.”

“We will. Take care, Lindsey.”

“Same to you, Todd.”

When Lindsey finished her telephone call with Todd, she went looking for Louise and Martha. They were around, so they weren’t aware of her approaching. 

“Girls, what are you doing?”

That’s when Martha and Louise turned around and saw Lindsey standing next to the couch.

“Nothing,” Louise answered.

“We heard you talking on the phone,” Martha told her friend.

“Yes, I was. The person’s name was Todd Cleaver.”

“Todd, huh? How did the introduction turn out?”

“It went okay. The introduction would’ve been better if it was in person. He did mention you and Lucy.”

“I’m not surprised. What did you think of the first meeting over the telephone?” Louise asked.

“I already told you. I don’t need to say it again.”

“Did Todd seem friendly when you talked with him?” Martha asked.

“It’s hard to tell. We only talked for a few minutes, but that was about it. He said something about a Catherine Cleaver calling me soon. Has Lucy ever mentioned her?” Lindsey asked Martha.

“She did, but didn’t give out much detail about either of them,” Martha answered.

“Okay. Even Todd seemed to agree with me about this entire thing,” Lindsey replied.

“I thought the same exact thing,” Martha said as Louise nodded.

“Do you want me to tell you when Catherine is going to call you?” Martha asked.

“That makes a lot more sense so I’d know ahead of time. When do you plan to speak with Lucy again?” Lindsey wanted to know.

“I don’t know, but when I do, I’ll let you know.”

“That’s cool. I’m going back to my room and get a move on to do my homework. See you girls later.”

Both Martha and Louise watched as their friend closed the door behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

“Lindsey, you look like you have something you want to share with me Martha.”

“You bet I do, Louise. Martha, I just finished talking with Todd.”

“What did he say to you?” Martha asked with interest in her voice.

Even Lindsey could tell Louise also had an interested look on her face.

“We both agreed this sort of news is interesting, but we can’t find anything out why our parents left a cliffhanger without telling us.”

“That is interesting. What else did he have to say?” Louise asked, still having that same look in her eyes.

“Not much else to share, Louise. What we’re thinking about is how we can meet in person.”

“That really would be something to watch. What do you think, Louise?”

“I happen to agree with you, Martha. Mind if I ask you something, Lindsey?”

“What do you want to ask me?”

“Did Todd sound friendly?”

“You took that question out of my mind, Louise. It ‘s my turn next time.”

“Okay with me, but I don’t want to argue about it.”

“Neither do I,” Martha agreed.

“Yes, Todd sounds like a nice guy. May I ask you something, Martha?”

“What is it, Lindsey? All of us are full of questions today,” Martha said.

Even Louise agreed.

“She’s right, Lindsey.”

“My question is do you have any pictures I could see, Martha? I’m really interested in seeing what Catherine and Todd look like.”

“No, I don’t, but I can have Lucy send me a couple of them to share with you next time I talk with her.”

“Please do, unless I send them friend requests on facebook and see for myself.”

“I’m not thinking about facebook, but I can ask you that for Lucy.”

“That’s not necessary, Martha. I can ask that myself.”

“Okay. I’ll do my best to ask Lucy for pictures. If I do get a response from Lucy, I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you, Martha. You’ve been a big help in this area.”

“You’re welcome, but I didn’t do much.”

Martha said that truthfully, Lindsey and Louise noticed, but it wasn’t necessary to say that to Martha. Lindsey and Martha had been friends ever since they started kindergarten, so it was no wonder they continued being best friends, and Lindsey brought it up.

“There’s something I want to share, Martha.”

“Go ahead.”

Lindsey did.

“I want to thank you for being my best friend.”

“I want to say the same thing, Lindsey. Since we’re close friends, it looks like we’re almost sisters.”

“I know.”

When they both finished saying that, they hugged each other. This scene almost made Louise cry. 

“I almost started crying when I heard that. Sometimes this makes me think I was here in America a long time ago and we’d all be best friends, but I couldn’t help it by being late.”

Even Louise said that line in truth. Then all three of them hugged. Lindsey saw that she had a few good friends, and Louise and Martha were on her list. Even though they can act immature at times, Lindsey still saw that they had been best friends for several years with Louise, even if it meant Louise came in later. And Lindsey told herself she was grateful to have a friendship with these girls.


	7. Chapter 7

About another week or so, Todd was able to talk with Catherine.

“Hi, Todd,” Catherine greeted him when they began to have a new conversation.

As usual, it was a telephone call.

“Hey, Catherine. How have you been?”

“I’m doing good, thank you for asking. What about you?”

“Same here. The reason I called was because I thought you wanted to hear about Lindsey.”

“What about Lindsey do you have to share with me?”

This time Catherine was alert. Last time they talked, Catherine somehow was less interested when Lucy told them about Lindsey than Todd was, but now since she was more interested, she began thinking to herself if Lindsey Cleaver sounded like a pleasant person or not, but Catherine somehow figured that was why Todd was calling her today. They normally talk about every other week. At least it gives them the chance to catch up.

“Is this something I would be interested in hearing about this Lindsey person or would I loose interest?”

“This is worth sharing to me, but I don’t know about you. Should I continue or are you interested in hearing about this another time?”

“Now would be fine.”

“I found something about Lindsey. I was able to have a telephone conversation with her for the first time.”

“That’s awesome! Did she sound pleasant or not?”

“She was pleasant during our first telephone meeting. Even she was as curious as you and I are through this whole thing.”

“That’s what happens when relatives don’t have anything to share with their children.”

“Amen, Catherine. At least this telephone call gave us a chance to begin a friendship.”

“It’s a start for sure, Todd. Maybe I can try talking with her.”

“I’m sure Lindsey would like that. Sooner or later we will have to set up a date to meet Lindsey face – to – face.”

“I was thinking about the same thing from what Lucy told you and I about Lindsey. Remember Lucy said something to us about having a sister?”

“Not really. I guess I didn’t pay any attention when Lucy told us.”

“Well, she does. And Lucy was the one who gave us this information about this Lindsey person. I don’t remember what Lucy told us about her sister’s name. I guess Lucy probably decided not to tell us immediately.”

Then another idea popped into Catherine’s head.

“Todd, I just thought of a question.”

“What’s that?”

“While we’re still talking about Lindsey, I was thinking of giving her a call. What do you think?”

“I like it. You don’t need to ask me this.”

“Well, you’re the one who mentioned it. That’s why I thought if I could ask you since you already had a conversation with Lindsey.”

“Do whatever you want, Catherine. Lindsey and I had a short conversation, so we haven’t yet given the chance to talk about what we like.”

“That does make sense to me on the first meeting. Maybe the third or fourth meeting we can do that when one of us brings it up.”

“That does make a lot of sense, Catherine. I hadn’t thought of thinking about that immediately. Have you lost Lindsey’s contact information or do you still have it?”

“I’m not sure, but go ahead and give it to me anyway.”

“Okay.”

Then Catherine grabbed a piece of scratch paper and a pencil to write down the information. 

“I found something to write.”

“Good. Here’s the information.”

When Catherine writes, she prefers pencil instead of pen. So Todd gave it out while Catherine wrote it down.

“Thanks, Todd. I appreciate that. If I do find Lindsey’s information from last time, I’ll let you know. I always think it makes sense to play safe in case I already lost it.”

“Makes sense to me. Do you want me to tell Lindsey to expect hearing from you?” Todd asked.

“There’s no need to do that, Todd, but thank you for offering. I’ll let Lindsey figure it out on her own.”

This time Todd didn’t respond, but again he saw that Catherine had made another good point. He hadn’t ever thought of sending text messages to Lindsey, but that should come later in case Lindsey doesn’t do that.

“I just thought of something, Catherine, but this time I’ll keep to myself, since it isn’t worth sharing with you.”

“We don’t need to share every little idea we think of something, Todd. You don’t have to share if you don’t want to,” Catherine said understandingly.

Sometimes Catherine could act this way, but it depended what they were talking about.

“I wish you luck, Catherine.”

“Thanks, Todd, but I don’t think I’ll need any help.”

Then it was time to end the conversation, Todd told himself.

“When you start talking with Lindsey, let me know how it turns out.”

“I plan to do just that, Todd. It was nice speaking with you. Have a nice day.”

“Thank you. The same goes to you.”

Then that was the end of their conversation.

While Catherine still had the telephone in her hand, she thought now would be the perfect time to meet Lindsey. But she changed her mind. She started looking for the information that Lindsey could be contacted, but she was happy to play safe from the information Todd shared with her in case she already lost it. So she looked all over the downstairs in her house. There wasn’t any need to visit the upstairs since the master bedroom was downstairs.

She double – checked a few times around the downstairs of her house, but there was no sign of Lindsey’s contact anywhere. So Catherine decided to give up. Maybe tonight or tomorrow morning sounded like a better idea to wait and meet Lindsey. She wasn’t too sure if Lindsey was a late sleeper or not, so this was why Catherine didn’t want to take any chances.


	8. Chapter 8

Within the next week or two, Lindsey received a text message from Catherine. Lindsey read Catherine’s message and then yelled for Martha. Louise wasn’t around when this happened. Louise was in town with a friend of hers since they both wanted to pay a visit to the movie theater. Martha ran into the kitchen as fast as she could.

“Yes, Lindsey?”

“Did you tell Lucy that is was all right to give Catherine my contact information?”

“I didn’t tell Lucy anything.”

Lindsey saw that Martha told her the truth.

“Then who gave Catherine permission to send me a text message without me knowing about it ahead of time?”

“I don’t know. Can I see the message?”

Lindsey nodded her head yes. Here’s what Martha read:

‘Hi, Lindsey. This is Catherine Cleaver. I’m sure you probably know by now that we are cousins. It’s interesting, huh? Have you had the chance to meet Todd? We hope to meet up in person. Take care. Let me know when you get this message. Hope to hear from you soon.’

“What do you think of this message, Martha?” Lindsey asked.

“I’m not sure what to think, Lindsey. If I were you, I’d talk with her immediately to find out how she sent you that message.”

“You have a good point. Maybe I will respond back. Do you think I should reply to her now?”

“I would,” Martha answered, and then added, “but Louise is missing out on the latest.”

“You both don’t need to know about every little thing, Martha. You and I have grown up together, but you can be a bit annoying sometimes.”

“Sorry,” Martha apologized.

“That’s okay. At least we’re still friends, which is a good thing. I will let Louise know about the latest on this story. I’m sure she’ll think she missed out on all the fun.”

“I know, but you do know she isn’t missing anything.”

“I know, but still I’d like to share.”

“Have it your way, Martha. Like I just said, you don’t need to tell her anything about this.”

“I understand, Lindsey. Did Louise say what time she’ll be back or did she not tell you anything?” Martha asked.

“She didn’t say a word. Has she told you about it?”

“Nope.”

“I’ll message Catherine now.”

“Good idea. May I watch?”

“That’s not necessary, Martha. I still prefer doing this alone. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Go right ahead. I’ll leave now and you can text away.”

“Thanks. See you later.”

Now that Martha had left, Lindsey began to text. Here’s what she said:

‘Hello, Catherine. I hope I’m not rude in our first meeting like this, but how did you get my contact information? Yes, it would be fun to meet you and Todd in person. Did Lucy Haskell say anything to you about sending text messages my way? Again I apologize if I’m rude.’

Then she sent the message.

A couple of minutes later, Lindsey received a message from Catherine.

‘You didn’t sound rude, Lindsey. To answer your question about contacting you like this that Lucy never said anything about sending you messages to you. All she did was give us


	9. Chapter 9

Todd and Catherine had invited their parents to come visit. Steve and Debbie Francis, who happened to be her parents, flew out to spend some time with their only child. It was a nice treat to get out of town for a while. Besides, Todd hadn’t seen his parents recently either. His parents’ names were Jacqueline and David.

“Can we ask you a couple of questions?” Todd asked.

“What’s that, Todd?” Jacqueline asked.

Catherine already knew what his question was going to be, so she stayed silent. 

“How come you never mentioned this Lindsey girl to us?” Todd asked.

He and Catherine wanted to know that answer, so that was why they wanted to get together with their parents. 

“Thank you for inviting us to visit you, Todd and Catherine. We needed a vacation,” Debbie said.

“We’re happy you’re here, Aunt Jacqueline.”

“Ask the questions you want to share.”

That was Debbie who said that.

“What do you need to know about your cousin Lindsey?” Steve asked.

“In the past, neither one of you said anything about her.”

“Catherine, we’re sorry both of you didn’t know until today. We feel a little bit sorry you haven’t told you earlier,” David told her.

Now it was Steve’s turn to ask something.

“How did you and Catherine find out about Lindsey?” Steve asked.

“Our friend Lucy told us. You do remember her? Lucy Haskell.”

“We do remember, Todd,” Debbie told him.

“So that’s how we know about her.”

“Have you had a chance to met in person?”

“Not yet, Mom. I’m sure there will come a time for that,” Todd replied as she nodded in agreement.

“We don’t know much about her,” Catherine replied.

“Lindsey’s in college snow. She’s very smart,” Jacqueline said.

“What else do you know about Lindsey?” Catherine asked.

The more she and Todd asked those questions, the more they found out about this cousin of theirs who they had never mentioned until now. If their parents had a few details for him and Catherine, they would get a better idea on what Lindsey really is. At least this is better than nothing, Catherine told herself, but didn’t bother to share.

“Have you thought of making up dates to meet her?” David asked.

“Not yet, but we’ll get to it,” Todd answered.

These details so far had them wonder how much more their parents knew. Todd somehow felt there was something else that they knew.

“Here’s another question for you,” Catherine began.

“What’s that, dear?” Debbie asked.

“Do you know what happened to Lindsey before we meet?”

“Lindsey ran away from home as a child. She’s been living by herself for about almost ten years, I believe. What her Uncle Beaver has told us, Lindsey ran away from home when she learned Uncle Wally started to have some health issues,” Steve answered.

“Boy, that does sound like a scary past,” Catherine replied as Todd nodded.

“How did you find all of this information from Uncle Beaver? E – mail, text messaging, phone call, or what?” Todd asked.

This also was a curious question.

“We talked about it over the telephone. He communicates more that way. At least we know something,” Jacqueline answered.

Catherine and Todd looked at one another. Both of them thought these answers were interesting. After that, Todd and Catherine didn’t ask anymore questions. More would be on the way.


	10. Chapter 10

Within the next couple of weeks or so, Lindsey was able to meet Todd and Catherine in person for the first time. There was no need to bring there parents along since Lindsey had already met them. To tell the truth, both of her cousins and flown to Mayfield for this special trip. Somehow it would be worth it, Lindsey told herself. Martha and Louise weren’t invited, and that didn’t make them very happy at all, but they had no choice.

Lindsey had seen pictures of Catherine and Todd, so she didn’t have to since they had sent her pictures of themselves while they were texting one another until they made up plans to meet in person. This would be something fun, Lindsey told herself and hoped the same went with them also. While making the plans, Lindsey did mention to them that she would be able to pick them up once they arrived to Mayfield.

On Tuesday, Lindsey decided to drive to the airport and wait for her cousins’ arrival. She was told their flight would come at two, so Lindsey left ahead of time. They were only going to stay in Mayfield for a day or so, and that was fine with Lindsey. No, Todd and Catherine were not staying with Lindsey and her friends. Todd and Catherine both have known who Louise and Martha were, but didn’t want them to be involved.

Around two – forty – five that afternoon, Todd and Catherine showed up. Yes, Catherine and Todd turned out to be who they said they are, and Lindsey saw that as a good sign. Both Catherine and Todd seemed friendly, like she thought they were.

“Lindsey?”

It was Catherine that spoke. 

“Yes, I am Lindsey Cleaver. You both must be Todd and Catherine Cleaver.”

“Yes, we are,” Todd replied.

“At least we were finally able to meet up in person. Todd and I are only staying for tomorrow, so there’s a bit of time to do that.”

“Would you want me to drive to the hotel so you can check in?”

“Yes, please do. Todd and I normally do this every time we go on vacation. How do you normally do it, Lindsey?”

“I mostly stay at home with my father,” Lindsey answered truthfully.

Todd and Catherine both knew about Louise and Martha. They told Lindsey when they made arrangements when they could get together and weren’t interesting in meeting Louise and Martha at all, and Lindsey didn’t mind. At least it would get her away from them for a while.

“One thing about Martha and Louise is that they always run into trouble,” Lindsey told her cousins.

“What sorts of trouble?” Todd asked.

He and Catherine weren’t surprised about hearing things like this, so he asked the question anyway.

“We have friends who also are troublemakers,” Catherine replied.

“Almost everybody does,” Lindsey agreed.

“To answer your question, Todd, Martha and Louise mostly run into trouble during the school year. And besides, they normally aren’t the straight A type of person like myself.”

So Lindsey offered to drive her cousins to their hotel and get settled in for a while. Again Lindsey offered to help them. Yes, Catherine and Todd were sharing a room.

“You don’t have to help us, Lindsey. We’ll call you when we’re ready.”

“All right. I’m just being helpful.”

“We can see that. We’ll remember what your car looks like.”

“I’m sure you will.”

Lindsey left the trunk open while her cousins collected their luggage.

While they went into the hotel, Lindsey decided that now seemed to be the perfect time to do some grocery shopping. Martha and Louise often do much, so Lindsey mostly it, and she doesn’t seem to mind much like they do. At least Lindsey was able to pick up the groceries and put them away at home. By the time she finished putting the ice cream away, she received a message from Catherine, saying they were ready.

While she and Todd were unpacking, Todd said to Catherine, “I just came up with something.”

“What’s that?”

“I think we should just spend the rest of the day with Lindsey and then fly back home tomorrow. What do you think?”

“It makes sense to me. Do you want to tell her or should I?”

“I’ll let you it since you thought of it.”

“Sounds good. What time do you have in mind to leave tomorrow?”

“I was thinking first thing in the morning.”

“That’s fine with me also.”

So Lindsey, Todd and Catherine spent the afternoon and then head back to their hotel after dinner. Once he and Catherine hopped into Lindsey’s car, Todd said, “Lindsey, is that all right with you if we just spend time with you for dinner and then head back to the hotel?”

“That’s fine with me.”

“Todd’s like this every time he travels, Lindsey. One day he’ll have fun, and the next he gets tired and wants to go home. That’s exactly what he’s doing now.”

“I understand. I believe Martha and Louise are like that sometimes, so I do see where Todd is coming from.”

Even though Lindsey often drives with Martha and Louise when they are going home and see their families, so she understood exactly how Todd gets when it comes to travel.

“What do you two want to do after supper? A movie?” Lindsey suggested.

“Just dinner is fine. Todd and I have been to the movies recently, but thanks for the suggestion.”

“You’re welcome. I don’t mind driving you back to the hotel. You both do sound tired.”

“Yes, we are. This has been a fun afternoon, Catherine said.

“Yes, it is,” Todd and Lindsey agreed.

Once the three of them finished eating dessert, Lindsey paid for the bill and then drove back to the hotel.

“I don’t mind walking both of you to your room.”

“You don’t have to do that, but you can if you want,” Todd told her as he began to yawn.

Once the three of them walked to the room, Lindsey hugged them and they both thanked Lindsey for dinner.

“It was fun seeing you, Lindsey,” Catherine replied.

“I had fun also. I hope you have a safe trip home.”

“This afternoon visit was worth it,” Todd agreed.

“Yes, it was,” both Lindsey and Catherine agreed.


End file.
